Transport Fourth Railway Package: the European Parliament votes in a tense climate On 26 February in plenary session, the European Parliament voted on the EU's fourth railway package, aimed at fully opening up rail to competition from 2019 by liberalising national passenger transport, the last segment still protected today. In reality, though, many provisions will continue to make it complicated for new players to enter the market. In December 2019, barriers will be removed and rail undertakings will have the opportunity to directly offer passenger transport services that compete with those of the incumbent railway companies. However, given the fact that most national lines are covered by public service contracts (representing 90% of national traffic), new players will have to wait until 2022 for new provisions to apply on tendering procedure to award public contracts. And even after that date, Member States will still be allowed to award direct contract: the obligation to launch tendering procedure will be compulsory only if the incumbent railway company does not fulfil a certain number of criteria such as punctuality, frequency of services, customer satisfaction or quality of rolling stock.
incumbent rail operator, much to the Commission’s disappointment. With this vote, the European Commission considers that many MEPs have continued to protect traditional railway companies from competition and technical problems. MEPs were also subject to intense lobbying actions from Member States and incumbent railway companies. Some 2,600 rail workers from 17 countries also demonstrated, on 25 February in Strasbourg, ahead of the European Parliament's vote. Along with the measures on market liberalization, the Parliament also approved the technical simplification of the European rail, since there are currently over 11,000 different national technical and safety rules in each of the 28 member states, hampering competition and “leading to excessive administrative costs”.
March-April: Council of Ministers examine the package 13 June: Transport Ministers Council September: possible start for Trilogue negotiations December 2019: passenger transport liberalization December 2022: new rules for tendering procedure
The Parliament also confirmed its rejection of the separation between infrastructure manager and
INSIGHTS BRUSSELS March 2014